Nucleus Investment Insights

It has been a volatile 6 months in macroeconomic outlooks. A year ago, it looked as if Australia was lagging behind the US economically; a few months ago that narrative reversed. And then it flip-flopped several more times. Join us in this week's podcast as Nucleus Wealth's Chief Investment Officer Damien Klassen, Chief Strategist David Llewellyn-Smith and Senior Financial Adviser, Samuel...

Extraordinary scenes in Russia this week as a coup put a significant dent into Putin's aura of political invincibility. We examine the aftershocks for macroeconomics, political stability and investments. In particular, we look at the investment landscape for defense contractors, which ones benefit, which ones are less well positioned and where defense budgets are being spent in the aftermath o...

For the last few months, we have been talking about how the soft data (i.e. surveys and forward looking) has been looking recessionary but the hard data has been surprisingly firm. That has started to change, and in the hard data we are seeing sweeping signs of a slowdown. Join us in this week's podcast as Nucleus Wealth Chief Investment Officer Damien Klassen, Chief Strategist David Llewellyn...

Grant Williams is a titan of the financial podcasting world, interviewing the biggest names in the industry and examining the core macro arguments dominating discussions. We take the opportunity this week to quiz Grant and see where he sits on some of the biggest macro themes. Agenda: Is there a recession or soft landing? Bonds say recession by the 4th quarter, equities say earnings growth will be...

We have seen a raft of comments and discussions from the governor of the reserve bank of Australia. The message has been disjointed. What has come through, whether he realises it or not, is the fundamental disconnect between government policy and central bank policy. On one hand, Australia is being flooded with record levels of new immigrants, putting upward pressure on rents and services. Supply...

NVidia hit a market capitalisation of USD1 trillion this week after a stunning set of earnings upgrades. Data centre revenue, which is the largest part of NVidia's revenues, is expected to double over the next 90 days. But revenues have been volatile. For example, NVidia's gaming revenues halved last year, probably due to Etherium (a crypto-currency) moving to proof of stake. On one hand,...

Join Nucleus Wealth Chief Investment Officer Damien Klassen and Senior Financial Adviser Samuel Kerr for an insightful podcast episode as we delve into macroeconomic themes and strategies with Peter Boockvar, Chief Investment Officer of Bleakley Financial Group. From recessions and US interest rates to company profits and credit crunches, we navigate through the key factors shaping the financial l...

From an investment perspective, betting on vested interests to win the issue of the day has been an easy bet for the last few decades. While Nucleus admits this is no way to run a country, it is hard to invest for a different outcome when vested interests keep winning at the expense of the broader population. Our guest today has been in the thick of the battle in parliament and continues the battl...

Have you or someone you know experienced the mayhem in the rental market lately? Rents are up nationally 10.1% in the last 12 months according to SQM. Underlying that is up to 50% increases as existing tenants' leases expire, bidding wars for new properties, and inspection queues sometimes winding around the block. Where is this coming from? And what does it mean looking forward? Nucleus Wealt...

In November, China issued a sweeping directive to rescue its property sector. At face value, it was a major recalibration of its property crackdown. There are two ways to read the string of announcements: China is starting down the “whatever it takes” path. The current policies may not be enough, but they are a sign that China will keep adding more stimulus until the problem is fixed. The plan doe...

Vegetable oil prices have halved. Cereal prices are down 20%. Dairy similar. Sugar is one of the few food ingredients that is up (and Ukraine/Russia are not even major producers), but meat is down. At the same time, international shipping rates have plummeted. The Baltic Dry Index is about 75% lower than its peak in 2022. So, why are grocery prices still rising? In this week’s podcast, Nucleus Wea...

The Q1 earnings season is more than halfway through, and the results are not great. At the headline, a number of the big tech names look better than expected, overshadowing the rest of the market. But once you dig into the earnings for smaller companies, the results are more concerning. The big question is whether this is the start of the major earnings downturn that we have previously discussed o...

During COVID, right around the world governments suspended normal bankruptcy rules to keep companies alive. And it worked! Bankruptcies plunged in developed countries all over the world. But now, the rules are back to normal. Bankruptcies are starting to rise once more. Is this a sign that the business cycle is back? Will there be a "catch-up"? Will rising interest rates swamp all other...

There are early signs that the property market has bottomed, and a number of analysts are calling for prices to start rising as the RBA cuts rates. We compare this to upcoming the mortgage cliff. What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? In this week's webinar, join us as Nucleus Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen, Senior Financial Adviser, Samuel Ke...

Over the last few weeks, the Nucleus Wealth team discussed several times the probability of a credit crunch. Now that data is flowing through, the signs are ominous. Bank lending and credit availability have pulled back sharply. In this week’s webinar, Nucleus Wealth’s Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen, Chief Strategist, David Llewellyn-Smith and Senior Financial Adviser, Samuel Kerr dive i...

Can Doing Less Help You Achieve More? Or Will Following The Herd Lead You Astray? In this episode of Nucleus Wealth Empower, Shelley George, Nucleus Wealth’s Chief Operating Officer and Damien Klassen, Chief Investment Officer, addressed this incongruous issue. Empowering you to develop money and investing as tools for living your fullest life. Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Nucleus Wealth is...

Every day there are new applications for AI, and a Cambrian explosion of ideas are steaming through work places right now. In this week's webinar, we analyse the sectors that have the most to gain, and more importantly, the most to lose from the rise of Artificial Intelligence. View the presentation slides Agenda: What is AI What have been the breakthroughs Exponential? Industries most at risk...

This week we will discuss a number of the myths around the rise of India. Most importantly there is a common misconception that as China goes into decline, India will rise to take its place and Australian exports will continue to grow. We do not believe this is broadly the case (although there are some sectors where India-Australia trade will grow) and we look in detail at the reasons why. So join...

It feels like stock markets are standing at the top of a very slippery slope. No guarantees that stock markets will fall, but the risks are certainly elevated. We are back with banks again this week. We won't give too much because things are moving fast, so just click the button below to watch the full episode. Watch this week’s podcast as Nucleus Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Damien...

There is debate over what point we are in the cycle. Depending on where we are, there are different stocks that you want to own. Value, growth, defensive, quality stocks - all have benefits at different points in the cycle.  Join us on this investment podcast as Nucleus Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen and Senior Financial Adviser, Samuel Kerr look at different arguments and...

As these things often do, the Silicon Valley Bank situation escalated quickly. Is this a sign that the Federal Reserve has raised rates until they broke something? Join us for this special episode as Nucleus Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen and Chief Operating Officer, Shelley George, lift the lid on what's happening in the US banking system right now. To listen in podcast...

Last night in the US we saw a number of regional banks run into issues and have dramatic falls in share price. A range of the largest US banks including JP Morgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo fell over 5%. Bond yields tumbled (bond prices rose). This could be the precursor to a deeper banking crisis. We run through the issues and the effect on your portfolios. In this investment podcast, Nucle...

Given the inflation and GDP numbers yesterday, we thought it worth an emergency look at the emerging crisis in the Australian economy. Join us in this week’s podcast as Nucleus Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen, Chief Strategist, David Llewellyn-Smith and Senior Financial Adviser, Samuel Kerr, have a look at this breaking update. View the presentation slides Agenda: GDP fading fast...

Join Nucleus Wealth's Shelley George, Chief Operating Officer, and Damien Klassen, Chief Investment Officer, to find out why transparency is important in your investments. Empowering you to develop money and investing as tools for living your fullest life. Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Nucleus Wealth is an Australian Investment & Superannuation fund that can help you reach your financial...

The energy crisis created significant pessimism in Europe in 2022. A record-warm winter averted a (further) crisis and European stocks rallied significantly higher. But the absence of a crisis is not the same as a recovery. In this investment podcast, Nucleus Wealth’s Chief Investment Officer, Damien Klassen, Chief Strategist, David Llewellyn-Smith and Senior Financial Adviser, Samuel Kerr look at...